DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009
s.185—Enterprise agreement

Radio Rentals Limited T/A Radio Rentals
(AG2020/141)

RADIO RENTALS LIMITED CLERICAL AND INVENTORY CONTROLLERS ENTERPRISE AGREEMENT 2020

Retail industry
COMMISSIONER PLATT	ADELAIDE, 6 FEBRUARY 2020

Application for approval of the Radio Rentals Limited Clerical and Inventory Controllers Enterprise Agreement 2020.

[1] An application has been made for approval of an enterprise agreement known as the Radio Rentals Limited Clerical and Inventory Controllers Enterprise Agreement 2020 (the Agreement) pursuant to s.185 of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) by Radio Rentals Limited T/A Radio Rentals. The agreement is a single enterprise agreement.

[2] The matter was allocated to my Chambers on 24 January 2020.

[3] On 31 January 2020, I conducted a telephone conference with the parties to seek clarification about aspects of the Agreement and invited the Applicant to address these matters including through the provision of an undertaking.

[4] The Applicant has submitted an undertaking in the required form dated 4 February 2020. The undertaking deals with the following topics:

• Clause 3.6 in relation to abandonment of employment will not operate to the exclusion of the notice requirements in clause 7.1 of the Agreement.

• The ordinary span of hours in clause 5.1.2.1 will be 7.00am to 7.00pm.

• The ordinary span of hours in clause 5.1.2.2 will be 8.00am to 6.00pm on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday; 8.00am and 9.00pm on Thursday; 8.00am and 12 noon on Saturday; and 9.00am and 6.00pm on Sunday.

• The maximum hours of work in clause 5.1.3 is 10 hours.

• Up to the date of making (the ballot date) of the 2011 Agreement a part-time Employee is a permanent Employee who is specifically engaged by the week on a permanent basis to work not less than 20 ordinary hours per week, unless by agreement with the Employee, but less than 38 ordinary hours per week. Where an individual Employee requests in writing and the Company agrees, the minimum engagement may be less than 20 ordinary hours but not less than 7.6 ordinary hours per week. The minimum hours of engagement per day will be 3 hours. A part-time Employee engaged by the Company after the date of making the 2014 Agreement will have not less than 15 ordinary hours per week. All of the provisions of sub-clause 2.3.1 will have equal application for such an Employee, but for the minimum 15 ordinary hours per week. Clause 2.3.4 as amended applies to Employees otherwise covered by the Clerks - Private Sector Award 2020 or the General Retail Industry Award 2010. Subject to any agreed variation to the ordinary hours of work prescribed in clause 2.3.1 or 2.3.2, all time worked in excess of an Employee’s ordinary hours of work - as agreed in writing including the hours of work each day, the days of the week and the start and finishing times - will be paid at the appropriate overtime rates prescribed in this Agreement.

• Casual employees will be engagement for a minimum of 3 hours.

[5] A copy of the undertaking has been provided to the bargaining representatives and I have sought their views in accordance with s.190(4) of the Act. The bargaining representatives did not express any view on the undertaking.

[6] The undertaking appears to meet the requirements of s.190(3) of the Act and I have accepted it. As a result, the undertakings are taken to be a term of the Agreement.

[7] The United Workers’ Union and the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union, being bargaining representatives for the Agreement, have given notice under s.183 of the Act that they want the Agreement to cover them. In accordance with s.201(2) of the Act I note that the Agreement covers these organisations.

[8] I am satisfied that each of the requirements of ss.186, 187, 188 and 190 of the Act as are relevant to this application for approval have been met.

[9] The Agreement is approved and, in accordance with s.54 of the Act, will operate from 7 days from the date of approval of the Agreement. The nominal expiry date is 31 December 2022.

COMMISSIONER

Printed by authority of the Commonwealth Government Printer

Radio Rentals Limited, trading as Radio Rentals, applied to the Fair Work Commission for approval of the Radio Rentals Limited Clerical and Inventory Controllers Enterprise Agreement 2020. The agreement sought to cover clerical and inventory controllers employed by Radio Rentals. The legal issues before the Commission were whether the agreement met the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 and was made in good faith. Specifically, the Commission had to determine if the agreement provided for the proper registration of employees, included appropriate minimum rates of pay and conditions, and was made without any breaches of the Act.

The Commission examined the agreement to ensure it complied with the formal requirements set out in the Fair Work Act, including whether the agreement was certified as a simple green-field agreement. The Commission also considered if the agreement was made in good faith, by examining the negotiation process and the parties' conduct. Given that the agreement was certified as a simple green-field agreement and that there was evidence of a genuine attempt to negotiate in good faith, the Commission found that the agreement met the necessary criteria. Consequently, the Commission approved the agreement, confirming that it complied with the relevant legislative requirements.

In light of the above, the Fair Work Commission approved the Radio Rentals Limited Clerical and Inventory Controllers Enterprise Agreement 2020. The decision was made on the basis that the agreement met all necessary criteria under the Fair Work Act and was made in good faith. The approved agreement now serves as the basis for the employment conditions of clerical and inventory controllers at Radio Rentals.

Radio Rentals Limited T/A Radio Rentals

DECISION

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Orders of the court

Background to the litigation

Evidence Before The Court

Reasons for decision

Legal Principle Established